1. Field of the Invention
Embodiments of the present invention generally relate to methods of cleaning substrate surfaces.
2. Description of the Related Art
In the production of photovoltaic cells and modules, such as amorphous silicon and microcrystalline solar cells, the efficiency of the individual cells can be an important industrial concern. One factor that may affect the efficiency of the photovoltaic cells is foreign matter or contaminants present during film processing. Contaminants present on the surface of the cell prior to or during film processing can reduce the overall conversion efficiency of the solar cell, and may lead to the formation of hot spots in assembled photovoltaic modules. Hot spots may occur when one of the photovoltaic cells in a photovoltaic module are electrically mismatched compared to the rest of the cells in the photovoltaic module. The presence of hot spots generates localized heat which may lead to device failure. However, improving the efficiency of each photovoltaic cell reduces the electrical mismatch between photovoltaic cells, thus reducing the occurrence of hot spots.
Therefore, there is a need for improved methods of manufacturing photovoltaic cells and modules with reduced contamination and higher conversation efficiency.